Few directors have been beset by such
persistent tribulations as Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas, The Fisher King). The beleaguered filmmaker’s disastrous
attempts to film Don Quixote were detailed in all their woeful
glory in Lost in La Mancha, and over the course over shooting
this Parnassus both the film’s lead actor and its producer passed
away. Gilliam himself was struck by a car and suffered a cracked
vertebra, causing him to quip that ‘They got the star, the producer, and
they were going for the director.’

The star in question was, of course, Heath
Ledger, and once the dust had settled on his untimely demise Gilliam
made the decision to forge ahead with the production. Only a third of
Ledger’s scenes had been shot, and it was decided that not one but three
actors would step in to fill Ledger’s shoes. This decidedly talented
trio consisted of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell, and each
eschewed formal payment for the role, instead placing their fee in trust
for Ledger’s young daughter Matilda, who was left out of an early draft
of her father’s will.

Having four actors portraying the same
character isn’t a premise that could plausibly work in many films, but
luckily with its colour, craziness and kaleidoscopic absurdity
Parnassus ensures the wild conceit comes across as perfectly
believable.

The titular doctor, portrayed by
Christopher Plummer, is the leader of a travelling theatre troupe which
includes Andrew Garfield, Verne Troyer and UK model-actress Lily Cole as
the doctor’s daughter Valentina. Plummer’s Parnassus is beset at all
times by the Devil (Tom Waits), who has granted the doctor immortality
and intends on taking his daughter Valentina as payment on her sixteenth
birthday.

One night the troupe discovers a stranger
(Heath Ledger) hanging underneath a bridge. They rescue and revive him,
as the mysterious stranger starts to regain his memories the sideshow’s
magic mirror, a device for entering the land of dreams and
unconsciousness, sends all who enter it on the most unlikely of
adventures.

Infused with Gilliam’s trademark visual
flair, Parnassus is a film of near-unrivalled optical splendour.
Taking myriad influences from the likes of artists such as Salvador Dali
and Grant Wood, Gilliam creates a realm of the senses that is at once
painterly, abundantly lush and near-unlimited in its scope. The
dreamscapes are necessarily heavy on the CGI, which it must be said is
hit and miss: when it works it’s brilliant; when it doesn’t it’s
distracting and even jarring.

Balancing any lapses in the visual
spectacle however are some extremely solid, even career-defining
performances. Plummer is brilliantly convincing as the sozzled old
raconteur, as are Troyer, Cole and Garfield as the members of his ragtag
troupe. A grizzly and surprisingly nuanced Waits growls his way through
the role he was born to play, and the Depp-Law- Farrell triumvirate puts
a fresh and lively spin on the Ledger character.

Ledger is, it must be said, the film’s weak
link. His accent is appalling; one minute he’s a cockney geezer, the
next he sounds as though he’s ordering a beer in an outback pub. You
never for a moment lose yourself in his performance, and when you’ve got
an actor the likes Johnny Depp playing the same role in the same film
Ledger’s manifest deficiencies become even more glaring. He might have
been able to mumble his way through Brokeback Mountain but here
he just sounds ridiculous and amateurish.

But back to the film’s strong points. The
Blu-ray transfer is immaculate, with impeccable levels of clarity and
stunningly vibrant cinematography throughout. The scenes in the
mirror-world feel, for the most, expansive and magical, and the
excellent performances balance the film’s many out-there moments. The
HD Master Audio is lively, and the multi-faceted score really comes
alive in surround.

There are plenty of special features; the
film comes with an optional three-minute introduction by Gilliam, and
there’s a spirited and informative director’s commentary as well.
There’s Heath Ledger’s wardrobe test, several featurettes on the
effects, production and design, and interviews with Gilliam and several
cast members including Ledger. There’s also a 12-minute UK Premiere
featurette, several deleted scenes with optional commentary and an
impressive multi-angle featurette that demonstrates a special effects
sequence from four separate perspectives.

Blu-ray is really the only way to
experience The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. In addition to
being Gilliam’s best film in years it boasts an intricate plot,
compelling screenplay, lavish special effects and a host of memorable
characters. Sound and picture quality never falter in the HD format,
and regardless of what this humble reviewer thought of Ledger’s
performance the film remains an engaging and highly worthy resting place
for our Heath.